The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford has been awarded a five-year, $1.4 million grant for its TRIO Student Support Services program by the U.S. Department of Education.
The first-year award is for $275,100 to fund the TRIO SSS program beginning Sept. 1. The program provides students with enhanced opportunities, including individualized academic, financial and career coaching and services, to help them successfully complete their undergraduate degree.
“The TRIO program at Pitt-Bradford is one of our most important tools in helping students achieve a transformative education,” said Dr. Catherine Koverola, president of Pitt-Bradford. “The Student Support Services program gives every student on our campus the opportunity to experience academic and career success. We’re grateful to the U.S. Department of Education and to Congressman Glenn Thompson for his support.”
Thompson said, “I’m pleased to see students will continue to be supported through TRIO programs at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford. These students will receive a quality education at an outstanding institution thanks to these resources.”
The TRIO SSS program at Pitt-Bradford will use the funds to support 160 students.
Students who participate in TRIO SSS at Pitt-Bradford graduate at a rate that is 7 percentage points higher than eligible non-participants. The retention rate for TRIO SSS participants is 13 percentage points higher than eligible non-participants. Twelve percent of first-year students participate in the program.
TyJae Murray is a TRIO student from Philadelphia who is studying computer information systems and technology and serving as a resident advisor on campus.
“The TRIO program has helped me succeed in ways that I didn’t even think were possible,” she said. “I enrolled at Pitt-Bradford as an engineering major thinking that this was the field that I wanted to pursue, but things didn’t go as planned. I felt lost. I didn’t know who to ask for help, and I didn’t know where to find it. Then I got an email from my TRIO advisor, who always made it his business to check in with me. He helped me find a sense of self and belonging here at Pitt-Bradford.”
TRIO students work with advisors who help them outline their goals for each term, identify and acquire needed study skills and manage their finances. TRIO students also have access to success seminars that help them make the transition to college, enhance transferable skills and prepare for next steps after college.
Students can also explore careers with their advisor, get help navigating the world of higher education, use the TRIO SSS learning lab and study center, and take advantage of an equipment, textbook and resource loan program.
The TRIO SSS program is administered through Pitt-Bradford’s Office of Academic Affairs.
This is the fourth time that Pitt-Bradford has received a five-year SSS grant.
In recent years, Pitt-Bradford has been recognized nationally by Washington Monthly magazine as one of the top 50 colleges and universities in the country serving the public interest through promoting student social mobility, research and service.
For more information on Pitt-Bradford’s TRIO SSS program, visit www.upb.pitt.edu/triosss.
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